Philippine national elections boost feed mill investment

Pilmico Foods Corp. will upgrade its feed milling plant in Lanao del Norte in northern Mindanao in the Philippines until next year. It also intends to expand hog production this year to take advantage of higher spending ahead of the 2010 national elections.

Pilmico, the unlisted feed, flour, and hog production unit of the Aboitiz group, will spend P80 million (app. €1.14m) to increase the Iligan plant’s feed milling capacity by 10,000 tonnes from about 100,000 tonnes annually.

"We will have elections and I understand remittances are up again," Pilmico President and Chief Executive Sabin M. Aboitiz told reporters.

"If [consumers] buy more pork and chicken, [hog and poultry farmers] will have to buy more feeds."

"If we order the machines now, by the second quarter next year our expansion is complete," he said.